The humanities comprise a large number of departments in the College of Arts and Sciences, but we rarely stop to consider what, exactly, the humanities are and why they matter in our lives outside the classroom. They include fields like literature and philosophy, area studies like American studies, and languages. Simply defining them as fields of study leaves something to be desired, though.
Our very own Indiana Humanities describes them not as a thing but as “a process for pursuing truths about the shared human condition.” The Academy of Arts and Sciences provocatively deems them “disciplines of memory and imagination, telling us where we have been and helping us envision where we are going.” The humanities ask us who we are, how we exist in the world, and why that even matters. In other words, they’re kind of, well, about everything.
When I reflect on what the humanities are, I can’t help but think about fleas. Specifically, I reflect on a 17th-century British poetry class I took that introduced me to “The Flea,” a poem by John Donne. In it, the speaker attempts to persuade his beloved to consummate their romance by making an argument that hinges on their blood having mingled in a flea that has bitten both of them. (Yes, it’s a weird—but delightful!—poem.)
Around the same time, my French linguistics professor assigned a textbook chapter about romance. One exercise featured an array of pet names. You can imagine my shock when I realized that “ma puce,” one of those terms of endearment, translates to “my flea”—a direct line connecting the Donne poem to my coursework in French.
My flea obsession continued this past spring when I visited the Louvre Museum in Paris and hunted down a painting by Giuseppe Maria Crespi titled “The Flea Hunt.” It depicts a woman in her bed, searching for a flea on her body—a theme popular in 17th-century Netherlandish painting and used to convey ideas about sexuality and morality.
For me, a flea isn’t just a flea anymore: it’s a symbol of seduction, romance, and chastity. And my understanding of the way people several centuries back grappled with one of life’s biggest questions—that of love and the pursuit of it—is more profound and nuanced than before.
I hope the humanities have brought you this same kind of joy and illumination, too, but if not, now is a perfect time to start. The Council’s October First Thursday Festival is coming up on October 3, and we’ve put together a Humanities Salon composed of humanities departments and units to provide a diversity of answers to the question “What are the humanities?”.
For the folks in the history and philosophy of science and medicine department, the answer involves the ways that literary works like Frankenstein represent scientific knowledge and innovation. The English department is inviting you to type up a postcard on their vintage typewriters and contemplate how “letters home” are a genre of their own. And how much you know about IU itself will be put to the test by our friends in the history department, who’ve put together a trivia game to rattle even the staunchest IU buffs. Those aren’t all, though. Eight more humanities departments and units will be on hand to add their perspectives to the discussion.
So come have a conversation or two at the Humanities Salon at First Thursdays—it’s October 3 from 5-8 p.m. on the Fine Arts Plaza. You’re sure to encounter something that surprises, shocks, or bewitches you.
Leave a Reply